WEBERN, Anton von
b Vienna, 3 December 1883
d Mittersill, 25 September 1945, aged sixty-one

He was born of an old aristocratic family. He attended the Gymnasium at Klagenfurt from 1894, and also had private lessons on violin and cello. From about 1901 he began to write songs; then he studied music at the University of Vienna, from which he took his doctorate. He showed some of his songs to Schoenberg, who accepted him as a pupil in 1904. In 1908 he became conductor at Bad Ischl, then returned to Vienna as an occasional conductor and chorus repetiteur. In 1910 he became assistant conductor at the Stadttheater in Danzig, but when Schoenberg moved to Berlin, Webern followed him. From 1913 to 1914 he lived in Vienna, and after World War I he held many posts in various towns, but never for long; he always came back to Vienna. In the 1920s his success slowly grew; he was asked to conduct his own works abroad, and he won the Vienna Music Prize in 1924. Political changes in 1934 ended his activities with the Workers' Symphony Orchestra, and he had to live by teaching. He died in a shooting accident; an American soldier came to arrest Webern's son-in-law because of black-market activities while Webern was staying with him and in a nervous moment fired at Webern by mistake.

1908 (25)

Passacaglia, for orchestra, Op 1

Entflieht auf Leichten Kahnan, for chorus, Op 2

Five Lieder, Op 3

Five Lieder, Op 4 (1908-9)

1909 (26)

Five Movements for string quartet, Op 5

1910 (27)

Six Pieces for large orchestra, Op 6

Four Pieces for violin and piano, Op 7 (1910-15)

1911-12 (28-9)

Two Lieder, Op 8

Five Pieces for orchestra, Op 10 (1911-13)

1913 (30)

Six Bagatelles for string quartet, Op 9

1914 (31)

Three Little Pieces for cello and piano, Op 11

1914-18 (31-5)

Four Lieder, with thirteen instruments, Op 13

1915-17 (32-4)

Four Lieder, Op 12

1917-21 (34-8)

Six Lieder, with violin, clarinet, bass clarinet, viola and cello, Op 14

1917-22 (34-9)

Five Geistliche Lieder, Op 15

1924 (41)

Five Canons for voice, clarinet and bass clarinet, Op 16

Six Volkstexte, Op 17

1925 (42)

Three Lieder, Op 18

1926 (43)

Two Lieder, Op 19

1927 (44)

String Trio, Op 20

1928 (45)

Symphony for small orchestra, Op 21

1930 (47)

Quartet for violin, clarinet, saxophone and piano, Op 22

1934 (51)

Three Gesange from Viae invaie, Op 23

Concerto for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola and piano, Op 24

1935 (52)

Three Lieder, Op 25

Das Augenlicht, for mixed chorus and orchestra, Op 26

1936 (53)

Variations for piano, Op 27

1938 (55)

String Quartet, Op 28

1939 (56)

Cantata No 1, lone, Op 29

1940 (57)

Variations for orchestra, Op 30

1941-3 (58-60)

Cantata No 2, lone, Op 31